Beautiful Waters and Kid Safe Surf
When we planned our trip to Maui, we knew that the beaches would be beautiful but we also knew that most of them were not good for little kids or infants. Most of the beaches on Maui at times would get gusty winds and very choppy waters, so I started to look for beaches that we could take our daughter to that would be fairly calm. After some research and calling ahead to the Westin Maui Resort & Spa where we were going to be staying, we found Pu’unoa Beach, also known as Baby Beach in Lahaina.
Let me get some of the negatives about Baby Beach out of the way first. It is not usually crowded and can at times feel a bit deserted. The beach sand ranges from hard dirt type sand to grainy sand and the beach is quite narrow at points. We didn’t see any amenities like restrooms or showers anywhere near the beach. The lack of surf might bore the older kids after a while and the shallow waters don’t really allow for swimming. The few negatives are usually outweighed by the fact your small kids can safely play in the ocean.
The beautiful and calm waters of Baby Beach in Lahaina. | Photo by FamilyVacationHub
Getting to Baby Beach
Baby Beach is located just north (less than a mile) of Lahaina’s famous Front Street shopping and dining strip. There is street parking surrounding the beach neighborhood, but not a lot, so you might have to drive around a bit to find a spot. Your best bet for parking, based on the number of spots is Ala Moana Street or Kenui Street just off Front Street. After about 5 minutes of driving around we got a spot close to the Lahaina Jodo Mission on Ala Moana Street which has a really cool Pagoda that you can see from the street. Once you walk down to the beach from Ala Moana Street, you need to turn left and keep walking until you get to the calm waters of Baby Beach. On the way to Baby Beach we saw a couple shady folks camped out on the sand and not many other people. Once we made it around the curve we saw about 7 families set up on the narrow sands of Baby Beach.
Calm Waters of Baby Beach
This is not a crowded beach like the ones at the resorts or water sport spots. So we set up our towels and headed into the water. The beach water is so calm, thanks to an offshore reef, that you can let your toddlers run around without having to hold their hand. For infants, you can sit them in the calm shallow portion of the water without worrying about the surf knocking them around. You can walk out pretty far into the ocean and still be only waist high. This was the farthest from shore that my daughter had ever been able to walk or swim. The ocean floor of Baby Beach is a bit rocky, so we do recommend bringing water shoes.
Despite some of the minuses, we still recommend stopping by Baby Beach to let your young ones enjoy the clear, beautiful and calm waters for themselves without being attached to their parents at all times. This isn’t going to be an all day visit to the beach, so make sure to have other plans as well. Visit our Maui Tourist Map for location and directions to Pu’unoa Beach a.k.a. Baby Beach.
